Today, we have a carriage dress for Florence. Carriage dresses differed from walking dresses for the Victorian lady because they were intended to be worn while riding in a carriage. So, they often feature long trains and longer skirts.

It’s odd to realize that the bustle was originally considered a more rational solution to the huge width that crinoline skirts had grown too.

Fashion can be such a funny thing.

Outside, the snow has coated the ground and it is a beautiful white covering. It makes everything look so peaceful. Unfortunately, it also makes everything so very cold. I avoid spending much time outside in this icy Illinois winter.

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It’s very chilly and windy out today. It has been for the last few days. The snow is that dusty hard ice crystal kind that almost stings when it touches faces or skin. I don’t mind such weather, but I think it was meant to be spent huddled inside where the heat is up and the body is wrapped in thick warm blanket.

Recently, I read in a fashion magazine that the “ladies who lunch” look was in. Being from the wilds of the damp north-land, I’m not totally sure what it meant, but I suspect classic refined old money sort of clothing was the thing. Though I am not totally proud of how this set turned out, part of keeping a printable paper doll blog is being willing to accept that not very post is perfect.

It’s actually a simplified version of all the layers Victorian women wore. There should be a bustle and a corset cover and a chemise under the corset. I’m glad I don’t wear so many layers of underwear.

Except when it’s really cold out, then I get close with my long underwear and my heavy wool socks and my jeans and then sweater and coat and hat and scarf.

But not corsets… I wouldn’t want to wear a corset every day. Once in a while might be okay, but not every day.

I’d love to claim credit for these paper doll clothing designs, but most of them come from the store window of a clothing shop I walk past fairly often. Granted, I don’t dress like this (my look has been described as “little old man” with a dash of “sexy librarian”), but I do think some of the things in style right now are cute.

Not leggings. I can take or leave leggings, but I like the little fluffy skirts and the tunic tops.

Also, sweater vests. I do love me my sweater vests.

Yeah, maybe I do dress a bit like a little old man. I’m pretty much okay with that, really.

This teddy bear paper doll is one of the oldest I still think is well drawn. I drew her back when I was an undergrad. I’d been drawing a lot of dark things, so when I started this my roommate said to me: That’s cute. What are you going to do to it? You don’t draw cute things.

Well, I left it as is in order to prove that I darn well could draw cute things. (Truth be told, I had planned on keeping it a simple line drawing.) Though, I must confess, cute has never been one of my personal goals for my paper dolls and I tend to dislike most art which people label as either “cute” or “adorable.” Never the less, I do think it’s important to stretch the sort of paper dolls and doodles I draw and I am always looking for something new- though in some ways teddy bear paper dolls are actually an older trend of mine since I remember draw them as a child. I thought I couldn’t draw people, but drawing bears was much easier.

French Fashion Dolls were dolls made in the 19th century to help educate young ladies how to dress properly for adulthood. They often had a complete trousseau of clothing which makes them a great subject for paper dolls.

Florence is a combination of several different dolls. Her face is based on the dolls of François Gaultier like this one from the Carmel Doll Shop. Her body is based on a wooden bodied Bru doll which is one of the most highly prized types of French fashion dolls. I think she sure does make a beautiful Victorian paper doll for printing and coloring in.

Since I didn’t want to end up drawing clothing from the entire French fashion doll era (it ran from about the 1850’s through about 1885, though there are some from as late as 1915), I decided to limit myself. This printable paper doll and her wardrobe is from between the years 1869 and 1875. Today, the paper doll has her night gown, dressing gown and night cap.

Next Friday, Florence’ll get her underwear and then after that she’ll start getting dresses to print. Since Florence, like Curves, is a printable paper doll hold over from the old blog, I do plan to post a mixture of dresses some people have seen and some people haven’t. I am still proud of a lot of the dresses I drew for Florence last year (this isn’t true of a lot of things I’ve drawn), so I have no intention to not keep them as part of the paper doll’s trousseau.

I like to think of Marisole as the love child of Halle Barry, a Bratz doll and possibly some sort of insect.

I actually drew this doll originally for the old incarnation of this site, but ended up never really doing much with her. I always liked her, and so I’ve decided to post one Marisole paper doll every Monday. I didn’t really mean for her to look like Halle Berry, but once I was done she really reminded me of her.

On a slightly unrelated note, there is snow on the ground and I am rather enjoying it. It’s so beautiful and white and it reminds me of home. I would much rather have it 20 degrees and snowing then have it be 14 degrees and not a flake on the ground. I’m not sure my poor snow covered car agrees with me though.

To go back to the paper dolls, momentarily, there will be another paper doll post on Wednesday and then a Florence on Friday. At least, those are my plans at the moment. They may change at any instant.

So, I am very excited to reveal here the mostly finished new version of Paper Thin Personas. Yes, I lost everything, but now is a time for rebuilding and creating new things. (This is me trying to be positive.) There’s still some work to be done and it’s not perfect yet, but it is on it’s way. I’m excited.

(No one else might be, but I totally am.)

So, enjoy the Regency Teddy Bear paper doll.

A more coherent post may come on Monday, but no promises.

Edit: I’ve posted the second page of this paper doll. You can get the teddy bear’s other clothes here.